Introduction Linton - OCR1 - Cambridge Area Partnership

A Level Science Specification Event– January 2015
GCSE & A Level Sciences
from September 2015
- What are the changes?
- What is the Practical Endorsement?
Chae Cruickshank, Subject Specialist
What are the changes at GCSE?
- Criteria already set
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/gcse-subject-content
- Specifications will not be published before
July this year and will only be draft
- 100% external examination
- Ofqual consider it to be a 2 year course
- Practical questions in exam and proposed
teacher judgement of list of practicals.
- 15% practical weighting
- Increased maths weighting
KEY DATES
NEW SPEC
First teaching Sept 2016
First GCSE exams June
2018
OLD SPEC
Last teaching Sept 2015
Last exams June 2017
What are the changes at A Level?
- Linear
- AS decoupled from A level
- 100% external examination
(longer time)
- Extended response
- 15% practical weighting
- Increased maths weighting
(10% Biology, 20% Chemistry, 40% Physics)
- Practical Endorsement (will be reported
separately to the A Level grade)
KEY DATES
NEW SPEC
First teaching Sept 2015
First AS exams June
2016
First A level exams June
2017
OLD SPEC
Last teaching Sept 2014
Last exams June 2016
Practical Endorsement
• Centres complete a minimum of 12 practicals.
• Teachers decide whether, across the 12 activities,
whether each student has demonstrated the required
competencies defined in:
– Common Practical Assessment Criteria (CPAC)
– Use of Apparatus and Techniques listed by DfE
Between 12 and 17 for each subject
Guidance cannot be finalised until Ofqual have responded to the results of the
Practical Endorsement trialling carried out in a number of centres across the
country in Autumn 2014. IT IS A TRIAL ACROSS ALL AWARDING BODIES.
Practical Endorsement Trial
Practical Endorsement Trial
• Teachers reported being most confident in the
assessment of practical skills and techniques with
fewer problems on the identification of pass or fail.
• “Students felt that it would make practical work more
important to them to take seriously all the time rather
than just during controlled assessment.”
Practical Endorsement Model
A Level Science Specification Event– November 2015
A Level Sciences
from September 2015
- What is OCR’s offer?
- What is the Practical Endorsement?
- Where can you find support?
Chae Cruickshank, Subject Specialist
What do OCR offer?
Teacher choice for each subject and
designed by teachers for teachers
Content-led approach
Chemistry A
Biology A
Physics A
Context-led approach
Chemistry B (Salters)
Biology B (Advancing Biology)
Physics B (Advancing Physics)
Standard unchanged from now.
Content broadly the same, minimal changes to criteria.
Ofqual are discontinuing AS and A-level Human Biology with the last awards in
June 2017. The final award for AS and A-level Applied Science is June 2018, no
decision has been made on whether Applied Science will be redeveloped.
Content
• Co-teachable (AS and A level)
• All changes are made after discussions with
stakeholders e.g. teachers, higher education
and learned societies and their feedback
• Rationale behind content changes are:
– Overlap with GCSE
– Feedback from teachers
– To meet new maths requirements.